A Smyrna man has been convicted on multiple felony charges following the brutal sexual assault of a female relative in May 2024. James Wheeler, 35, was found guilty on February 7 by a Kent County jury of Rape First Degree, Attempted Rape First Degree, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During Commission of a Felony, Terroristic Threatening, and Aggravated Menacing. The conviction follows a violent attack in which Wheeler held his victim at knifepoint and raped her.
According to investigators, the assault took place on May 31, 2024, in an apartment, where Wheeler was visiting a family member. Officials say that while alone with the victim, Wheeler brandished a knife and sexually assaulted her. The attack ended when other family members unexpectedly returned home, prompting Wheeler to flee the scene. The victim reported the incident to authorities the following day, and Smyrna Police detectives launched an investigation.
An arrest warrant was issued for Wheeler, who was located and apprehended two days later in Dover with assistance from the Dover Police Department. He was transferred to the custody of Smyrna Police detectives and formally charged with multiple felonies.
Notably, Wheeler had only recently been released from prison after serving time for an assault conviction prior to the May 31 attack.
In 2016, Wheeler was sentenced for his involvement in a 2015 shooting, at a Dover shopping center. In that case, Wheeler pleaded guilty to first degree assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Wheeler was sentenced to 25 years in prison, suspended after 2 years which is the minimum mandatory sentence.
In January of 2015, at the North Dover Plaza Shopping Center. James Wheeler, who was 25-years-old at the time, was charged with shooting a 44-year-old man.
His conviction in the rape case will return Wheeler to prison, facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 32 years. Under Delaware law, Wheeler could receive multiple life sentences for his crimes. A sentencing date has not yet been determined.